Jason Bourne (2016) Universal/Action-Adventure RT: 123 minutes Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of violence and action, brief strong language) Director: Paul Greengrass Screenplay: Paul Greengrass and Christopher Rouse Music: John Powell and David Buckley Cinematography: Barry Aykroyd Release date: July 29, 2016 (US) Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles, Riz Ahmed, Ato Essandoh, Scott Shepherd, Bill Camp, Vinzenz Kiefer, Stephen Kunken, Gregg Henry. Box Office: $162.4M (US)/$415.5M (World)
Rating: ***
Depending on your POV, Jason Bourne is either the fourth or fifth entry in the series kicked off by 2002’s spy actioner The Bourne Identity starring Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) as amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne, an enhanced superspy looking for answers while dodging bullets and other attempts on his life by agency baddies. After two more outings- The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)- Damon decided to call it a day. Bourne found what he was looking for more or less. That’s three movies so far.
In 2012, we got The Bourne Legacy, an attempted spin-off starring Jeremy Renner (The Town) as a completely different sensory-enhanced CIA operative. I don’t count this one in the series proper even though its plot intertwines with that of Ultimatum. Simply put, it’s lame. Since then, I’d been hoping that Damon would return to help revive the series.
With Jason Bourne, my wish came true. The character is back and looking to solve another part of the puzzle that is his past. When we last saw Bourne, he learned that he was part of secret government program called Treadstone, a CIA program designed to create unstoppable assassins. He’s been off the grid for nearly 10 years now, making money by engaging in illegal street fighting. In the opening, he knocks out a formidable Serbian opponent with one punch. Nice to see time hasn’t mellowed Bourne out. He’s still a total bad ass. Good because things are about to heat up again.
Ex-CIA technician Nicky Parsons (Stiles, Save the Last Dance), now living in Iceland, has been collaborating with a CIA whistleblower to expose the company’s latest dirty deeds. She hacks into the mainframe where she comes across new information relating to Bourne’s past. It has to do with his late father who also worked for the CIA. She decides to deliver the information to Bourne personally in Athens. Predictably, it raises questions that make it necessary for the ex-spy to come out of hiding one more time. He wants answers.
The hack doesn’t go unnoticed. Upon discovery, Cyber Ops Division Head Heather Lee (Vikander, Ex Machina) alerts her boss, CIA Director Robert Dewey (Jones, The Fugitive), who immediately orders the killing of Nicky and Bourne as soon as she leads them to him. He sends an operative known only as “The Asset” (Cassel, Black Swan) to do the deed. He has a personal vendetta against Bourne so he’s the perfect man for the job. Naturally, he fails to eliminate the unkillable Bourne. Dewey spends the rest of the movie trying to have their former operative erased. He’s living evidence of past dirty deeds and can’t be allowed to expose the agency’s wrongdoings to the free world. This includes his secret dealings with social media tycoon Aaron Kalloor (Ahmed, Rogue One) on a sinister program called “Iron Hand”.
Lee asks to take point so she can try to convince Bourne to return to the fold. The idealistic agent believes he’s still a patriot at heart and wants to do right by his country. Dewey grants her request, but you know it’s a crock. Sooner or later, he’ll find a way to sideline Lee so he can finish the job his way. His is a more permanent solution.
I like Jason Bourne. It’s a damn good action movie. However, there’s something missing from it. It doesn’t have the same sense of urgency as the first three Bourne movies. Paul Greengrass, who directed Supremacy and Ultimatum, fails to capture the electric intensity of the older movies. It also has less of a story this time around which could be because unlike the original trilogy, it’s NOT adapted from a Robert Ludlam novel. It’s also the first Bourne movie not written by Tony Gilroy. I guess he decided to call it quits after Legacy (he wrote AND directed that one). This time, it’s an original story, script written by Greengrass and Christopher Rouse. It’s more like a collection of action sequences and set-ups leading to them.
That being said, Jason Bourne is reasonably exciting. Greengrass knows his way around an action scene, that’s for sure. The only problem is the editing, especially in the hand-to-hand combat scenes. Fight scenes should have the viewer feeling pumped; instead, they leave you feeling like you’ve having an epileptic seizure while riding in an out-of-control SUV. The action is still pretty solid. The climactic chase through Las Vegas is pure dynamite. And just when they finally finished clearing up the mess left behind by Nicolas Cage and company in Con Air, right? It’s thrilling watching a SWAT wagon plow through traffic like it’s nothing. It’s not the only sequence that stretches credulity. There are a few “YEAH, RIGHT!” moments, but isn’t that what summer action movies are all about?
They say you never forget how to ride a bike. The same theory can be applied to Damon’s performance in Jason Bourne. A decade later, he’s still got it. He may be older, but he’s still got many moves left in him. Jones is good as the shady CIA head, a relic of old school espionage, a dinosaur in a tech-savvy world. Dewey’s kind is going extinct and being replaced by the likes of Lee who understands how much the world has changed since Ultimatum. Vikander, who took home an Oscar for last year’s The Danish Girl, is a welcome addition to the cast even if her character arc is completely predictable. Ahmed is also good as the young social media genius in over his head.
In a season marked by disappointments, Jason Bourne is one of the better movies I’ve seen. While not great by any means, it is quite entertaining. It’s a huge step up from Legacy, that’s for sure. It has some cool action sequences and stunts as well as a storyline that actually goes somewhere. I wouldn’t mind seeing a new Bourne flick a few years down the line. I’m not sure if he has the same staying power as James Bond, but it’s worth a shot.
